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Wild-Caught Birds, Captive Breeding & Conservation

Green-winged Macaw - Photo by Krista Menzel

Our Position

Captive-bred and raised parrots are not domesticated animals.
They are wild creatures — many of whom are only one or two generations
removed from their native habitats. Even though the U.S. banned importation
of most species of captured birds with the 1992 Wild Bird Conservation
Act, many other countries continue to allow trapping and the export and/or
import of wild-caught birds and many of the captive parrots now in homes
and in adoption/sanctuary programs are wild-caught. As a result, many
parrot species have suffered devastating and irrevocable depletion of
populations. Habitat destruction and the encroachment of human development
and consumption of natural resources are partly responsible for the numerous
species at risk of extinction; however, recent studies have proven that
poaching for the legal and illegal wild bird trade plays a far greater
role in the global decline of parrot populations in the wild (Norris,
Scott, "Sick As A Parrot,"New
Scientist, Vol. 170, Issue 2294, June 9, 2001).

While aviculturists argue that captive breeding will conserve
parrot species by preserving the gene pool, the reality is quite the opposite.
Domestic or captive rearing of exotic birds contributes nothing to save
species in the wild. The vast majority of captive breeding occurs outside
of official conservation programs and is not based on natural selection.

Since parrot survival skills and social behavior are determined by generations
of evolution and interaction with the flock and the environment and passed
on by parents to offspring, the probability of successfully releasing
captive bred birds into a species' habitat of origin — assuming that
habitat is still intact — is extremely minimal. Moreover, the marketing of captive-bred birds increases the demand for birds as pets, thus increasing
the incentive for legal and illegal trapping of wild birds for sale to
private individuals who wish keep them as pets, dealers/brokers seeking
cheap "inventory," collectors, and aviculturists seeking genetic
diversity for breeding stock.

While a successful captive breeding and release program
has yet to be developed for any parrot species, the AWC supports scientifically-based, bona fide parrot conservation programs undertaken by teams of
experts in population genetics, ecology, animal behavior, habitat conservation
and restoration, natural resource management, economics, politics, sociology,
and all of the other fields that must be considered if such a program
is to succeed. We do not believe that breeding for the pet industry in
any way "conserves" an endangered species because it simply
does not consider most of these critical ingredients. The pet industry
— either purposefully or unintentionally — selects for "pet
quality" physical, physiological, and behavioral traits rather than
wild ones, as well as breaking the crucial chain of survival skill training
from parents to offspring.

Helpful Resources: Websites, Videos, and References

Avian Welfare Coalition

The Mission of the Avian Welfare Coalition (AWC) is to raise awareness about the plight of parrots and other captive birds and to serve as an educational resource for the humane community, law-makers, and the general public.